NEWS

SECOND ROUND PLAYOFF PREVIEW
#1 Toronto Lakeshore Patriots vs #4 North York Rangers

How did Toronto Lakeshore Advance...
A series win may have looked easy after only playing 4 games but it was anything but. Even though the Jr. Canadiens were hurting from injuries, they battled hard every game and able to push the Patriots to their limits in every game. The Patriotsshowed in all four games why they are the best in the conference, finding ways to handle the challenge and overcome it. The Patriots had 10 forwards with a goal in the series, and their trade deadline acquisition of Evan Buitenhuis paid dividends as he would battle hard in every game to help pull out the W. Special teams played a big part in the series as Lakeshore converted over 50% of it’s power play opportunities while only taking 8 penalties all series. It was a short series, but Toronto Lakeshore earned their 10 days off.

How did North York Advance...
From the opening puck drop the Rangers knew that their series against St. Michaels was going to be overtly physical and one that the team was still looking forward to. The Buzzers and Rangers had a hard fought regular season as they battled for home ice in this series. A total of 48 man advantages were given in the series and if it wasn’t for those, the Rangers could have cleaned up the series in 4 games. North York’s big gun’s were responsible for their win as John Carpino, Corey Kalk and Adam Valadao scored 9 of the team’s 15 goals. A potential question mark in the series was Jason Pucciarelli and whether or not he could stand up to a big offensive attack like the Buzzers forward corps. 4 wins and a .919SV% answered that question, but a few other questions may have to be addressed in the next round.

Series Matchup
At first glance the initial thought is that the Patriots are too strong and this may be a short series. If you take another second to think about it, you realize that the North York Rangers, talent for talent, have a deeper forward corps than the Patriots. Still comparing apples to apples, the defence can be given a checkmartk to Lakeshore as well as the heads up goaltending battle. What do you get from this equation? You get a series that will go at least 6 games, with the intensity level ratcheted up to 11. The difference will be the depth of each team and what kind of game they elect to play. The Patriots play a slower style of game that focuses on puck possession and grinding their opponent down. The Rangers can play the same style but have much more speed to combat the opposition wearing them down. Secondary scoring and the ability for the defence to clear the zone efficiently will also be watched closely. Patriots Jason Fortier and Rangers John Dean are arguably the best coaches in the conference and amongst the top 4 in the league. Last change and home ice will be of the most importance in gaining a brief edge and if one team can score a visiting win, that could be the series breaker. Expect a hard series with minimal goals and a lot of special teams play.

Players to Watch:
Toronto Lakeshore: Evan Buitenhuis, Michael Prapavessis, Nathan Feric, Jacob Hayhurst
North York: Jason Puciarelli, Corey Kalk, Liam Kerins, Alex Leader

#2 Buffalo Jr. Sabres vs #3 Georgetown Raiders

Series Matchup
The Buffalo Jr Sabres come into this series needing 6 games to get past the Mississauga Chargers. What stood out most from that opening series was how poorly their penalty kill played. In the opening round Buffalo gave up 6 power play goals in 24 chances. With their 2nd round opponent the Georgetown Raiders a more even match up an improvement in this area is a must. On the positive side of things the depth the Jr Sabres possess really stood out against Mississauga as they had had players score at least 2 goals in the opening round and 7 scored at least 3. With offence like that you truly have a team that can strike at almost any moment.

After struggling to find the back of the net against Ben Blacker and the Milton ice hawks in the regular season Georgetown exploded for 18 goals in their 4 game sweep. While Buffalo’s hallmark is their depth the Raiders tend to rely on a big 3 (Hladin, Marra, Smith) plus some timely scoring from unsung heroes (Midensky with the game 2 OT winner). In this round they will need more production from the rest of their line up especially with star AP Adam Mascherin missing the opening of the series while he competes in the OHL Cup with the Vaughan Kings. In the opening round Mascherin chipped in with 4 goals and was all over the ice including intercepting a clearing attempt that led to the tying goal with 15 seconds left in game 2. The Raiders also must maintain their special teams efficicny as they will be facing a team with much better discipline than the Icehawks. After averaging 5.5 power plays a game in the opening round they will be facing a team in the Sabres who were shorthanded less than 4 times a game in their opening series.

Players to Watch:
Buffalo: Pat Egan, Daniel Lafontaine, Nick Desimone, Nolan Sheeran
Georgetown: Michael McNiven, Steve Hladin, Liam Clare, Steve Midensky